To:
Bureau of Reclamation

Stop the plan to raise Shasta Dam - Support the Winnemem Wintu

Abandon the proposal to raise the height of the Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet, and prevent cultural harm to the Winnemem Wintu's sacred lands and ecological damage to the McCloud and other rivers of northern California.

Why is this important?

Until Monday, the Bureau of Reclamation is accepting public comments on a disastrous, $1.07 billion plan to raise the Shasta Dam that would flood 5,000 acres of land, including land sacred to the Winnemem Wintu tribe. The main beneficiaries of this project would be the fracking industry and Big Agriculture. We have to speak out now to stop it.

The Bureau of Reclamation released a draft Environmental Impact Statement in July on the U.S. government’s proposal to raise the height of northern California’s Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet. This project would add 14% more water to Shasta Lake during wet years. But while some of this water would be used by new housing developments and southern California residents, much of it is destined for agricultural users who can resell the subsidized water.

But while some of this water would be used by new housing developments and South California residents, most of the water that would be held back by the new dam is destined for agricultural users who can resell the subsidized water.

California’s oil industry will also benefit, as it ramps up the use of water-intensive hydraulic fracking in the southern Central Valley, raising fears of chemical contamination of groundwater and increased earthquake activity.

In addition to creating new environmental problems, the update to the dam would fail to solve others. Native salmon have been blocked from their historic spawning grounds in the upper McCloud, Sacramento and Pit rivers since the Shasta Dam was completed in the 1940s. No bypass for fish species was included in this proposed project.

As if these factors weren't bad enough, the Shasta Dam project would also flood ceremonial dance grounds still in use by the Winnemem Wintu tribe today. Sacred sites and burials still located at traditional Winnemem village sites would also be flooded, causing irreparable cultural harm.

While some claim that the project will balance out these problems by creating temporary construction jobs, it won't increase long-term employment in the region.

The public comment period on this disastrous proposal ends on Monday, September 30. If enough of us speak out now and sign this petition, we can show the Bureau of Reclamation that the project will continue to face fierce opposition if it sends the proposal on for congressional approval. Together, we can stop the proposal now.

How it will be delivered

We e-mailed the petition and 1,903 signatories' names to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Sacramento on Monday, September 30 before the 5pm deadline. Please keep signing the petition, as we will send it to BuRec in DC, as well as to members of California's Congressional delegation, such as Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is a strong supporter of raising Shasta Dam.

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